| Walt Before Mickey | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Khoa Le |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928 by Timothy S. Susanin |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Ian Dudley |
| Edited by | Khoa Le Lauren Young |
| Music by | Jeremy Rubolino |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Voltage Pictures
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Release date |
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Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Walt Before Mickey is a 2015 Americanindependentbiographicaldrama film about the early years ofWalt Disney based on the bookWalt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928 by Timothy S. Susanin, with a foreword written byDiane Disney. The film starsThomas Ian Nicholas asWalt Disney, Armando Gutierrez asUb Iwerks, andJon Heder asRoy Disney.
The film covers Walt Disney's early years in business, during which he started various businesses includingLaugh-O-Gram Studio andThe Walt Disney Company with fellow animatorUb Iwerks and his brother,Roy Disney.
The film is narrated periodically byWalt Disney. At the age of thirteen, he develops a love for animation and film. In 1919, after returning from his time with theRed Cross, Walt moves in with his older brotherRoy and his girlfriend Edna, inKansas City. Roy later moves to California, staying in a veterans hospital to deal withtuberculosis. Walt is hired as an artist at Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, meetingUb Iwerks. However, Walt and Iwerks are made redundant weeks after when the company's revenue declines.
Walt and Iwerks found their own business, Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists, located in an old barn. They are joined by animatorsFred andHugh Harman, and come up with the "Laugh-O-Grams" to show in Frank L. Newman's theatres. With help from new investors, theLaugh-O-Gram Studio is founded. Walt hires new staff includingFriz Freleng andRudy Ising. The studio struggles financially, and Walt is unable to pay his animators, or keep up his rent. Walt finds solace in a mouse occupying the studio, and contacts New York City-based distributorMargaret Winkler, pitching her a live action-animatedAlice series, which Winkler approves of. However, Laugh-O-Gram Studios goes bankrupt shortly after.
Walt moves to Los Angeles in 1923, living with hisrelatives, relying on Roy for financial support. Walt finishes work on the originalAlice film, which is approved by Winkler and her husbandCharles Mintz. Walt and Roy found theDisney Brothers Studio in 1923, hiring Iwerks and the other animators.Lillian Bounds is hired as an ink artist, Walt eventually falling love with her, and they marry in 1925. Roy also marries Edna. TheAlice Comedies are produced, starringVirginia Davis, distributed by Mintz. Mintz, unconfident in Walt's abilities, sends his brother-in-law, George Winkler, to supervise the studio. It also becomes apparent that Mintz continues to own the rights to all of the studio's creations.
TheAlice Comedies come to an end, and Walt and Iwerks createOswald the Lucky Rabbit forUniversal Studios. Guessing that the Disney brothers are running out of money, George begins talking with the animators, inviting them to join Mintz' new studio for better payment. Iwerks is the only one who refuses the offer. Walt and Lillian travel to New York, hoping to negotiate for a larger fee to make the Oswald shorts. Walt discovers a new contract would surrender all ownership of the Disney studios to Mintz, whose distributor Universal already owns the rights to Oswald, and learns his animators have left. Refusing to agree to the terms, Walt leaves Mintz and Oswald behind.
On the train back to Los Angeles, Walt is inspired to create a new character which he owns the rights to. He and Iwerks subsequently createMickey Mouse. In 1928, Mickey's first shortPlane Crazy is screened, and met with a round of applause. Walt, Roy, and Iwerks exit the theatre in celebration, Walt spotting the mouse from the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, reminding him of how far he has come. Insertions during the end credits detail the success Walt, Roy, Iwerks, and the other animators would go on to have in their own careers.
The majority of the filming took place inDeLand andOrlando, Florida. In an interview with theKansas City Star, director Khoa Le talked about the challenges of the project, having been hired at the last minute to direct and having little familiarity with Disney himself. He mentioned, '"I came from a short film background, indie stuff, so I knew how to work efficiently," Le said. "I'm an editor, too, so I was shooting to edit. For most scenes the actors got only two takes. I had to go back to my grassroots of guerrilla filmmaking."'[2]
The song "Just a Wish" was written and recorded especially for the film. It appears at the end of the film and over the credits, sung byJulie Zorrilla,American Idol finalist and written byAndrew Capra,Rob Graves and Jeremy Rubolino. It was released as aniTunes and digital single August 12, 2015.[3]
The film premiered at AMC TheatresDowntown Disney in Orlando and continued its nationwide release in AMC, Cobb, Harkins, Marcus, Logan, and other theatre chains.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 17% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 2.87/10.[4]
Cameron Meier of theOrlando Weekly gave the film one out of five stars. He praised the filmmakers' intentions, but criticized the production's rather low budget and execution, remarking, "...[the film is] conceived nobly but executed poorly by people who fell short of their dream."[5] Scott Renshaw of theSalt Lake City Weekly gave the film one and a half stars, criticizing the creative team for "the decision to douse everything in a twinkly, romanticized tone that probably struck the filmmakers as apropos for Disney's life, but in fact loses all that was spiky and determined about the man".[6]
Common Sense Media gave the film two stars, remarking that, "Few visionaries are as fascinating as Walt Disney, so it's particularly frustrating that this drama is so uninspired. It seems more like an adaptation of a student's book report than a compelling look at one of the most influential men of the 20th century."[7] Pop culture siteNukeTheFridge, which gave it an 8/10 rating, proclaimed, "Where this film does great at is the fact that it's relatable. Let's face it, most or none of us have our own billion dollar companies but the fact that Walt and his animators struggled financially and failed to have others believe in their dream, is something we can all relate to."[8]
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